


Blooming for You

by Runadaemon



Series: Fluff Week 2020 [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fluff, For a Friend, Hurt/Comfort, Language of Flowers, Love Square Fluff Week 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:40:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22626493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Runadaemon/pseuds/Runadaemon
Summary: When Adrien upsets Marinette, he'll do anything to make it right.Turns out, he didn't need to do much.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe
Series: Fluff Week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1625758
Comments: 21
Kudos: 407
Collections: Fav Recs





	Blooming for You

**Author's Note:**

> *gargles to get the sugar out*
> 
> This sugar is gonna kill me. I'm not sure I'll make it through fluff week at the rate I'm going. Please let me know if you enjoyed it, and if you have ideas for continuing it. So far, fluff week prompts are all stand alones. But you can change that if you can convince me. ;) 
> 
> Tumblr has my original version, which is unedited and not as well fleshed out. Tublr also has my fun shitposts where I toss ideas I'm not going to write. Same name, if you're interested. ;)

Right before class was released for lunch, Adrien made a mistake. He wasn’t sure what the mistake was, only that whatever he did caused Marinette to burst into tears and run from the classroom. Alya ran out after Marinette, and Nino was gripping his shoulder gently, so Adrien allowed Nino to keep him in his seat. As he glanced around the buzzing classroom, he was made aware of the overly satisfied expressions on Chloe and Lila’s faces.

As the bell rang, Adrien sent a text to Chloe, asking her what she’d done, before putting his phone away until he could get into his car. He packed up with Nino and crowded in close to him, hoping for answers.

“What did I do, Nino?” Adrien asked in a small voice. The boys walked slowly and quietly toward the front of the school, content to be passed by their peers. “Why did she get so upset?” Adrien studied his best friend, looking for hints. Nino’s expression was conflicted, somewhere between sympathy and irritation.

“It’s not you, dude.” Nino finally sighed. “It’s just some stuff going on with the girls. It really wasn’t you.” Adrien frowned, entirely unsatisfied with the answer.

“Well she didn’t burst into tears until I answered what my favorite flower is. So obviously it was something to do with me, right?” Adrien gripped Nino’s shoulder, pulling them both to a stop at the top of the stairs and turning to face him properly. “What’s going on?”

Nino huffed out a breath. “The girls had a sleepover meet up thing recently, and each girl was given a flower that describes them best. You said your favorite flower is a red rose, right? Well, Rose is the only girl that was given ‘rose’ to describe her, and that’s because it’s her name. She’s a pink rose, specifically.” Nino scratched at his head.

“I know Alya is an orange Lily, because that’s what she wants for Valentine’s Day now. I think Marinette was a Plum Blossom. She was the only tree flower, as far as I know. I guess she was a little upset you don’t like the type of flower she is?” Nino grimaced, aware he was skirting too close to other people’s secrets. Adrien frowned and let go of Nino, moving his hand to the nape of his neck in consideration.

“I don’t understand, Nino. What does it matter what my favorite flower is?” Adrien stared off into the distance, face towards the bakery. Nino took in the heartbroken expression on Adrien’s face and let out an aggrieved groan. Despite himself, Nino tried to explain better.

“Look, I think Chloe or someone said something about no one wanting an ugly tree or something. Marinette was the only one with an Asian tree flower, and they were saying something about how no one would want her. Alya of course shut them down, but today….” Nino looked at Adrien, who stared back with growing comprehension.

“Today, everyone picked flowers that weren’t tree blossoms. Even me.” Adrien finished. Adrien’s face lit with understanding. “It wasn’t because of me, I was just the last person to go. Nino, this is terrible!” Adrien’s face rapidly changed from relief into a sad frown. Nino felt his heart squeeze at the genuine distress on Adrien’s face.

“Nino, Marinette is bound to be upset. What if she gets akumatized?” Adrien’s eyes pleaded up at Nino, who blinked down at him in bewilderment.

“Marinette? Get akumatized?” Nino barked out a disbelieving laugh. “Bro, that’s not possible. Marinette gets upset all the time, she’ll be just fine.” Nino waved a dismissive hand. “Just give her some time, dude. It’s not a big deal, it’s just typical Marinette.” Nino clapped his hand on Adrien’s shoulder as he walked down the steps, Adrien staring after him in shock.

“I don’t understand.” Adrien murmured. He held his hand over his shirt pocket, feeling Plagg squirming in answer. Glancing around the rapidly emptying school, Adrien hurried to his car. Pulling his phone out and ignoring the response Chloe sent, Adrien continued talking to Plagg after nodding at the Gorilla. As the car sped off, Adrien looked out the window.

“I don’t get it. There’s nothing ‘Just’ about Marinette, P. Why would they downplay her being upset? That’s not right. And it isn’t normal, is it?” Adrien frowned, knowing he’d have to wait to get a reply. “Has that been happening a lot? I don’t remember anyone describing Marinette as ‘just’ or ‘typical’ before. She’s anything but ‘typical’ you know?”

Adrien paused and trailed off when his eyes caught on a flower stand. “Hey, Gorilla! Can we stop for just a minute?” The Gorilla glanced back at him questioningly. “I want to grab some flowers! My friend was really upset earlier. I’ll be quick, I promise!” The Gorilla grunted and aimed for the side of the road, turning on the blinkers.

As the car slowed down, Adrien unbuckled his seat belt and hopped out before the car came to a stop. He ignored the sputtering of his driver and kwami, intent on searching the blossoms. Not sure what he was looking for, he flagged down the seller. “Excuse me!” The old man grouchily approached.

Adrien briefly looked at the old man, noticing the bald pate, and the sweater tightly zipped to his chin over a black apron. “I’m looking for some flowers,” Adrien smiled cautiously at the man. The old man scowled down at him, eyes and hands hidden by wrinkles and weathered by time.

“What? You want some roses too? I’m all out, ya’hear!” Adrien blinked at the response. He hadn’t been thinking of roses, though normally that would have been his request. Glancing around though, he could see a surprising lack of the romantic flower, with empty pails all around.

“Uh, no sir.” Adrien glanced back at him, doing his best to remain polite. “I was actually wondering if you had any blossoms?” As the old man began to glower more heavily, Adrien hurried to continue. “Plum, blossoms, I think?” Adrien asked hesitantly. The old man’s scowl eased back, and Adrien could see the vibrant blue eyes behind his wrinkled expression for the first time. The blue eyes studied Adrien briefly, and when they moved away, Adrien let out a breath of relief.

“Plum blossoms?” The old man asked. Scratching his chin with a considering hum, he glanced around before turning around. “Just a minute.” Adrien watched the scruffy man disappear into the shop, unsure if he should wait or follow. Plagg’s squirming was distracting him though. Adrien drew his pocket open and glanced down after making sure no one was nearby to hear.

“What?” He hissed at his kwami. Plagg looked up at him with a worried frown. Adrien was surprised to see Plagg actually concerned, and immediately grew quiet to listen. It wasn’t often Plagg acted anything more than bored or hungry.

“Adrien, your classmates aren’t acting normal. They’ve been saying ‘It’s just Marinette this’ and ‘Just Marinette that’ for weeks now. I think Lila’s lies are worse than we expected. Kid, I think you mi-”

“What do you think of these?” The old man’s gruff voice sounded softer than before, but it startled Adrien into accidentally crushing Plagg to his chest with a smothered shriek. Glancing up, Adrien was surprised to see an amused grin briefly stretch across the man’s face, transforming into a handsome visage briefly before the grin disappeared. The old man brandished a couple of branches defensively, and Adrien let his gaze be drawn away.

“Oh, those are beautiful.” Adrien breathed out. Unbidden, a smile stretched across his face as he took in the flowers. “Wow, those really do suit her perfectly. They’re delicate but beautiful.” Adrien gently reached to brush his finger across a blossom, scared to tear it off, but curious to see what it felt like.

“Oh,” He sighed blissfully. “They’re so soft, but strong too. Sturdier than I expected, but,” Adrien couldn’t contain his grin as he gently tugged at a blossom that stubbornly held to its branch. “This really is perfect for our everyday Ladybug.” Adrien sighed wistfully, and stared at the flowers until the old man awkwardly cleared his throat.

“Well, these aren’t cheap, son. Did you want them? By themselves? Or a Bouquet?” Adrien jolted out of his trance, staring up at the old man with a blush. The old man’s blue eyes twinkled as he resisted laughing. Adrien blindly patted his pants for his wallet, quickly pulling out his credit card without looking away from the man’s gaze.

“I… I definitely want them, sir. Whatever you think is best. They’re for a friend.” Adrien stammered. The old man let out a surprisingly rich chuckle as he nodded, turning away and selecting a few additional blossoms to highlight the branches. Adrien felt the flush spread to his ears as the old man laughed at him.

“I had a friend like that once.” The old man mused as he wrapped the bouquet in tissue paper. Adrien jumped, torn from admiring the pretty flowers by his voice.

“Did you sir? Are you still friends?” Adrien asked hopefully. The old man snorted for a moment, turning back and quoting a decent price for the bouquet, before accepting Adrien’s card.

“I wouldn’t exactly call us that now.” The old man responded, handing over the bouquet and running Adrien’s card through the reader. Adrien could still hear the amusement in the old man’s voice, even as he drooped.

“Oh,” Adrien despondently replied. He couldn’t imagine not having Marinette around. She made every day feel magical somehow, with her smile and her greeting. It made his day infinitely better.

The old man proffered the card and receipt, smiling slyly. “Yeah, oh. Now I can call her my wife.” Adrien stared up for a moment, uncomprehending. Then his face rapidly turned pinker than the flowers as he attempted to juggle the card, the flowers, and the idea of Marinette as his wife. He burst into laughter as he watched Adrien attempt to not fall over.

The old man clapped a supportive hand on Adrien’s shoulder, grasping the flowers with his other as he lead Adrien back towards his car. Adrien quickly put away his card and reached for the flowers again. When the old man resisted handing them over, Adrien looked back into serious blue eyes.

“If she’s as similar to these plum blossoms as you think, son,” The old man confided. “Don’t let her go. You’re never going to find another ‘flower’ quite like these. There are similar ones, of course, but these are special, and you should always remember that.” The old man released his hold on the flowers, and Adrien numbly nodded as he retreated to his car.

Adrien didn’t notice when he buckled himself in, or the car door slammed shut. His eyes were glued to the bouquet for his friend. He didn’t notice the unhappy grunts or the lackluster lunch he was served. His gaze remained fixed on the flowers as he ate, trying to figure out what the old man must have meant. As he found himself mindlessly walking up the stairs to the classroom after lunch, still staring at the flowers, Nino slapped him on the back. The contact finally drew his attention away from the mesmerizing flowers. He still didn’t hear the questions from his friends, not even Nino who stood nearby.

Adrien glanced around to see the entire class staring at him. Most people weren’t in their seats yet, but huddled around in groups. Adrien noticed Alya and Marinette were at their desk, Marinette staring up at him with amazed blue eyes that felt oddly familiar, and incredibly precious. Ignoring the creeping heat of yet another blush, Adrien approached Marinette, ignorant of anyone else trying to get his attention.

“Um, Marinette.” Adrien started before gulping. He wasn’t sure what to say, but he knew he couldn’t let her stay upset when he could fix it. “I heard the girls picked flowers for themselves?” Adrien blinked down at her questioningly, and she nodded a miniscule amount. “Right!” Adrien cleared his throat.

“So I got you these. Roses and other flowers are really popular, they were even sold out but,” Adrien saw the sadness creeping back into her eyes and rushed to assure her. “BUT! These are so beautiful and precious! They suit you so much more! More than any typical flower! You’re gorgeous! I mean! They’re gorgeous! No! You’re both gorgeous, and precious and adorable and I just!” Adrien stammered to a stop, thrusting the flowers forward and closing his eyes. He concentrated on the way Marinette had bit her lip and her eyes had brightened as he spoke.

“I just wanted you to know, that just because you’re not the choice that ‘everyone’ goes for, it doesn’t make you any less of an amazing choice! You’re incredible! These plum blossoms are just like you! They’re delicate and strong, just like you, and I think you’re amazing and you have nothing to be sad about. That’s all!” Adrien let go of the flowers the moment he felt Marinette’s hands close around the bouquet, spinning around and slumping into his desk. He let his bag fall into the seat with him.

Before he could bury his head in his arms, he met the baffled stare of Nino and Ms. Bustier. Giving in to his embarrassment, he let his face fall into his hands and ignored the uproar in the classroom. Neither Adrien nor Marinette were willing to answer any questions about the bouquet, or why he had bought it, but upon meeting eyes, they both smiled shyly.

Adrien wasn’t sure what this meant for their friendship, and he wasn’t sure what to do about the class’s odd reaction to Marinette’s distress, but as they shared a new, poignant glance, Adrien softly sighed. As long as he could be Marinette’s support, they’d be okay. He would make sure of it. Marinette was too precious to risk.


End file.
